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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Commuting: Manila to Anawangin in Zambales

The famed and fabled Anawangin Cove in Zambales, the place I love to describe as where the mountains, pines and waves collide, is not that hard to reach even through commuting . This is what I discovered during our recent first-time trip to this side of Central Luzon last month. Read on and find out how we were able to reach Anawangin from Manila via public transportation.

1. From NAIA Terminal 3, we boarded the airport shuttle bus up to its terminal in Pasay Rotonda. (For my separate guide on how to reach Pasay Rotonda from NAIA 3, click HERE).

2. From the Pasay Rotonda Bus Terminal, we crossed the overpass and went down to the entrance of Metropoint Mall (Kabayan Hotel side).

3. We then walked our way towards the Victory Liner Pasay bus terminal. The terminal is about 500 meters away from Metro Point Mall. It is located in between Caltex fuel station and Grand Prix Econotel. To give you a clearer picture, here’s the location map of the terminal from Google.

Click image to enlarge

4. Go to the ticket booth and buy your ticket at the “Olongapo” window. Buy ticket for the bus bound for Iba or Sta. Cruz Zambales but tell the in-charge you’re only going up to San Antonio. If you’re not able to catch the Iba or Sta. Cruz-bound bus, take the next bus going to Olongapo. This is what we actually did since the bus bound for Iba already left when we arrived at the terminal. For bus schedule and fare, visit the Victory Liner website.

5. Travel time from Manila to Olongapo (via SCTEX) is more than 3 hours. The bus is airconditioned and spacious so it was, overall, a comfortable trip for us.

6. Upon arriving at the Victory Liner Terminal in Olongapo, you may transfer to a regular (non-airconditioned) bus bound for Iba. Tell the conductor you’re going to San Antonio. Travel time from Olongapo to San Antonio is about one hour.

7. In San Antonio, disembark at the bus stop near the Municipal Hall. There’s a 7-Eleven convenience store across the highway where you may buy some snacks and other personal necessities.

8. Take a tricycle ride to Pundaquit Beach. Fare is 60-80 pesos (depending on your negotiation) for a tricycle good for 2 persons. Travel time from San Antonio proper to Pundaquit is about 15 minutes. You may contact the driver who took us there: Cesar Concepcion-09072291313.

9. If you have booked your accommodation in Pundaquit, ask the tricycle driver to take you directly to that resort. My wife and I stayed in Canoe Beach Resort the night before we went to Anawangin. Read my review of Canoe Beach Resort HERE.

10. The resort in-charge may help you find a boatman for your island hopping. You may also directly negotiate with the boatmen on standby at the beach. They have a standard fare matrix for island hopping so you can be sure that you will not be ripped off with the price. We paid P1,000 for our Anawangin Day Tour.

Standard boat fare matrix. Click image to enlarge.

11. Life vests will be provided by your boatman as it is strictly required by the local authorities for the safety of the tourists.

12. Waterproof your belongings as splashes of waves would frequently get inside the boat. Travel time from Pundquit Beach to Anawangin Cove is about 30 minutes. During rainy season, prepare yourself for a wild and bumpy ride! (Read my Anawangin experience HERE).

14. If you’re planning to stay overnight in Anawangin, make sure to bring your own tent (if you opt not to rent a cottage), food supplies and cooking utensils. Be aware also that there are no electricity and cellphone signal in the cove.

15. Make sure to climb the cliff on the side where the stream water exits to the sea. It will be a short and fairly easy hike but the view up above is really mind blowing.

I hope that this guide would help you in planning your trip to Anawangin. If you find this Anawangin guide helpful, kindly share this with your friends and “like” this blog on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suroypilipinas

good day sir! very helpful itong blog mo, i just want to know how do i get back to manila (or cubao) from san antonio. may bus ba na direstong dadaan sa jumpoff? or do i have to go to some terminal? if so, where is it? be going there on april kasi so i have to fix my itinerary asap. thanks! -terry